Who Is Tired of Talking About Race and Politics?
I know I am.
“Facebook used to be fun.”
“I’m tired of all the negativity about politics.”
“Anyone makes a political post or gets political on my page is getting blocked.”
We all know the drill. Everything amps up for the election. The rhetoric reaches a fever pitch until Election Day, when it gives way to the sounds of silence. We can go about our normal business, re-friend our enemies, and talk to our family members again. Except this year. Fever pitch instead made way for fevered dreams where everything threatens the life of our republic and yet nothing is that big of deal. Each distraction is either a diversion or the real truth they don’t want you to know. You see smoke but you’re told it’s either nothing or the impending apocalypse. Maybe George Soros is the hidden hand. Maybe it’s Steve Bannon. Whomever it is, you are either making way too much of it, if you aren’t woke enough to see the constitutional crisis in front of us. It feels … like it’s all a bit too much.
After a nearly interminable length of time adrift in the political sea, I’ve found myself looking for dry land and a place to get out of the storm only to find that it’s too strange here. It doesn’t move right. I can’t shake the feeling that I need to get back in the boat and wade out into the waters even though all I want to do is take a nap. So tempting. I’m getting drowsy just sitting here. Why wade back in into such treacherous waters? This may feel dramatic, but please let me be clear:
I choose to engage because actual lives are at stake.
For many groups, the politics at hand are not simply abstractions. They represent actual changes that can affect the foundation of their lives. There are policy debates to be had about marginal tax rates, estate taxes, and all manner of things. The efforts of last week are not those policies. They are policies that place blame on specific people. These are threats of impulsive, blunt force. They are simplistic assertions of power and they bring mayhem.
If I’m honest, almost everybody I’ve seen take an indefinite break from the political realm has a certain, um, tonal skin quality that they tend to share. It’s not 100%, but it’s pretty consistent. I don’t downplay the need for self-care either. It can be brutal out there, and it is definitely worth taking time for your sanity, but you must return to the fight. Most often it seems those that tend to check out are those that can afford to do. If you are straight and white (being male doesn’t hurt either), these policies remain abstractions. You are not the target.
If you are an immigrant, documented or not, you can’t check out. Heck, even if you are born in the US, and people think you’re an immigrant, you can’t feel completely safe. This administration has shown it’s not going to spend much time parsing the details. The gotta wall to build. If a raid goes down and scoops you up, would you expect the agents to spend time sorting through proper documentation before releasing you? Last week they handcuffed a first grader at the airport and defended the action in a press conference the following day. If you are an immigrant, no matter how tired you might be, you can’t check out.
If you are a Muslim or a refugee, you are already a suspect. Because people fear the unknown, many see you as already guilty even if you are a hardworking, peaceful person. Nationally, we’ve become a hammer and every Muslim a nail, selectively quoting statistics and offering baseless claims to convince ourselves this will make us safe. If you are Muslim, no matter how exhausted you are, you can’t check out.
If you are black, you’ve been told that you live in a hell hole. Bullet holes riddle your local grocery. It’s time to send in the Feds, in what is surely a finely detailed policy. Every reason dances around some “pigs like to play in the slop” type of excuse. Thank goodness for the Federales who will arrive and provide the help that nobody wanted or asked for. And while they’re at it, might as well take a look that the voting patterns in these areas. Integrity of the ballot, right? Then, as the fight for police reform and justice continues, Jeff Sessions, who was deemed too racist to be a federal judge, and is now the Attorney General we are supposed to believe that he will fight for minorities and against institutional racism? If you are black, no matter how weary your feet, you can’t check out.
If you are a member of the LGBT community, a woman, or another group, your time is likely coming, and as a Christian, the response of a large number of Christians is very frustrating. This should be our wheelhouse. Welcome the refugee. Feed the stranger. Love your neighbor as yourself. We should be out there first! Instead we crouch behind walls for safety, as if we were called to a life of timidity and self-preservation. We are the Priest and the Levite, and not the good Samaritan. We live 2 Timothy 1:7, but in reverse.
I engage because I must. These policies are not simply policies. They are directed at specific groups of people with specific purposes. I have to be involved in the conversation no matter how awkward, difficult or hostile it might become. Even when I’m not the target, others are and as much as we like to throw MLK out there, a good portion of our country behaves as if an injustice anywhere is fine if it’s not a threat to them. If you feel you can opt out of the conversation without risk, please consider it a privilege. It is a luxury that many of us cannot afford.
This is an extension of an adult education class at First Alliance Church in Lexington, KY. It will run for 8 total weeks discussing issues of race and the church in American society. If you’re local, come see us! This space will be used to expound upon some of the questions brought up by the class.
Follow the series: Week One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight